ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the emergence of expertise on, and the professionalization of, public participation in Western democracies, with specific reference to developments in the United Kingdom (UK). It focuses on expertise and innovations in deliberative public engagement, specifically public dialogue in the domains of science, technology, and the environment. The rapid growth in institutionally commissioned public dialogue on science and technology in the UK means that processes of institutionalization, technicalization, and professionalization have been particularly apparent in this national context. The chapter discusses the trends towards the professionalization and commercialization of public participation, including the potential for it to compromise the ethical integrity of participation. Through developing new understandings of the expertise and professionalization of public participation in British science and democracy, the chapter explores inherent paradoxes and tensions lying at the heart of participation expertise and attempts to institutionalize it.
